


small hours magic

by moonblair



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Short & Sweet, Short Story, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Winter, and not a robber, for christmas special but im 2 days late smh, it was a cat, its three am, just woohwa things, new feelings, seonghwa cant say no to wooyoung, wooyoung is a scaredy-cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:08:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28352175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonblair/pseuds/moonblair
Summary: Wooyoung hid behind the counter in the kitchen while watching the oldest sneak his way to the back door, holding a broomstick. And then the male paused. "What are you doing, hyung? They're gonna get away!" Wooyoung yelled in a whisper and Seonghwa dropped his arms after putting them up to swing the broomstick at what they thought the thieves."You've gotta be fucking with me, Wooyoung." The older facepalmed. Wooyoung just frowned in confusion. "What is it? Are the bad guys gone?""Do you mean the cat?"Somehow, earlier, Wooyoung had missed a faint 'meow' when he rushed to the older's room when he heard noises at the back, fearing the dorm is getting robbed.akaWhere two hearts gets closer and created something magical between them during the small hours.
Relationships: Jung Wooyoung/Park Seonghwa
Kudos: 23





	small hours magic

**Author's Note:**

> i got this idea as soon i woke up one morning. its not supposed to be this long but i cant seem to stop myself. 
> 
> follow me on wattpad! @ moonbabey

**»»**

It was quiet. Deadly quiet.

And it was dark. The whole house was filled with darkness and there was no sight of any living creature lurking in the dark- obviously because it's far past midnight and everybody in the household was already sound asleep in their rooms. But in one of those shared rooms, it was dark too, yes, but a small single dim light lit up a small spot in the said room- precisely, on one of the two beds. It came from a phone screen and the owner was none other than Jung Wooyoung.

Unlike the other seven members in the house who were snoring softly while enjoying their sweet slash weird dreams, Wooyoung wasn't yet asleep. He's been busy finishing up the phone battery that he just charged hours prior; going to Instagram to stalk his favorite people, scrolling through Twitter to read a bunch of funny tweets that could entertain his night— he stumbled across this one funny tweet that he struggled to laugh without a single sound as to not wake up the whole house, especially his hyungs—, watching random videos on Youtube, and repeat.

Wooyoung's been draining his phone battery till it reached 20% instead of giving his poor tired body a rest it _seriously_ needed.

And during those times, surprisingly, his roommate Yeosang hasn't even moved an inch in his sleep— which explains it because he too stayed up late as well as Wooyoung, but he only lasted until 1 a.m. while Wooyoung was determined to keep on staying awake. And it's half past 2 in the morning now. 20 minutes later, ultimately, he decided to give in and _sleep._

His brain had let out a heavy sigh and if that organ could talk, it would probably say, "Fucking finally! It's about damn time this stupid dumbass goes to bed." Had that really happen, that would scare the shit out of Wooyoung. That would be a promising sight to see...

Yet when the young male closed his eyes and his brain was about to shut down to sleep, a vague noise was heard coming from outside. Wooyoung's eyes opened immediately.

"Oh my fucking god! What now?"  
–Wooyoung's brain.

He stayed still for a moment to hear the sound again, just to make sure it wasn't his mind playing tricks. And there was it again. It seemed that it's coming from the back of the kitchen, Wooyoung guessed. He glanced at Yeosang who looked so peaceful in his slumber that he felt it's wrong to wake him up just to accompany him outside to check what the noise is about. Wooyoung contemplated whether he should leave the comfort of his bed and go inspect what happened or he should just get some sleep he should've _two hours ago_.

He didn't want to get up because he was tired already. Plus, it was freezing cold, since it's December, and it's probably snowing outside. Yet, if it ends up being a thief that's planning to rob the house, Wooyoung could possibly be the hero that night— unless he still thinks sleeping is more important.

Wooyoung sighed heavily at his bad luck as he sat up in his bed. _Who the fuck rob a house in winter, anyway?_ He silently thought. With a huff, Wooyoung decided he should at least check the situation so that his mind would shut up about it. He peeled off his blanket that's been keeping him warm for hours and slipped on his fluffy slippers before making his way to exit the room.

As he stepped out of his room and closed the door shut quietly, Wooyoung cursed under his breath at the coldness he's being attacked with. Even with two layers of t-shirts and a sweater over his body couldn't supply enough heat to keep him warm from the cold. He hugged himself tightly after putting on his hoodie. _God, I hate the cold. Is the heater broken again?_

_"Pang!"_

Wooyoung jumped on his feet at the noise again, this time being louder than before. He turned his head to the other rooms to check if the other members had woken up because of that sound. Unfortunately, none of the doors were opened. Wooyoung frowned in confusion. _Are they dead in their sleep or something? That noise was loud and clear._ He doubted they would wake up so instead of waiting any longer, Wooyoung made his way towards the source of the noises; the kitchen.

It was quiet for a moment when Wooyoung arrived there, about five feet from the back door until a few thud sounds came out. Now, Wooyoung was convinced that they are getting robbed.

It was unnecessary to jump to the conclusion without _properly_ inspecting what is happening, but Wooyoung was being a scaredy-cat. So, he did one thing that came to mind; waking up the oldest and independent member, Seonghwa. Hurriedly but quietly, Wooyoung made his way to the oldest' shared room with the leader and went in without even bothering to knock— their house was in danger to care about manners at the moment. Wooyoung walked to the oldest bed and looked at Seonghwa who's buried deep in his blanket and his hair splayed on his pillow— he looked so beautiful even in his sleep.

As much as Wooyoung wanted to just stand there in the dark and stare at the prettiest male, it was not the time. A bad timing, indeed— he groaned internally at that.

"Hyung."

Wooyoung nudged at what he thought the sleeping male's shoulder gently. "Hyung, wake up." He tried again and Seonghwa moved a little. "Hyung, you have to wake up now." A sleepy whine was heard from the older and Wooyoung almost cooed at the spot. But he refused to forget the main reason he's here in the first place. "Please, wake up, Seonghwa hyung."

"What is it..." Seonghwa opened an eye to see Wooyoung looking down at him. "Wooyoung?" He moved to sit up in his bed slowly, rubbing his sleepy eyes. He managed to glance at his alarm clock on his bedside and sighed heavily. "It's three in the morning." He pointed out tiredly.

"I know, hyung. I'm sorry but– there's something that you should check out. Like, _seriously_ , now." Seonghwa looked at Wooyoung's expression that displayed worry and fear. That's when Seonghwa's face changed to a frown.

"What's the matter? Do you need help with something?" Seonghwa removed his blanket and swung his legs to meet the cold floor, standing up.

Wooyoung hurriedly grabbed Seonghwa's arm and lead him outside before they would wake up Hongjoong. This caused Seonghwa to widened his eyes a bit at the sudden urgency. After closing the door, Wooyoung turned to look at the older and answered, "I think there's something or someone at the back of the kitchen. I heard a few noises earlier and it was kinda loud. I just... I think it's the thieves." He gulped.

Seonghwa stared at him for a moment, trying to register his words into his just awakened mind. He thought that it's impossible for thieves to break into the neighborhood because of the trusted security system here. Nonetheless, he did see on the news that even the most highly secured house could get robbed easily. He nodded eventually and made his way to the place where Wooyoung said he heard the noises from.

Wooyoung had stayed behind the counter while Seonghwa kept moving forward. "Stay here and don't make any sound."

Seonghwa had said, even though that's what Wooyoung was doing from the beginning as the older neared the back door in the kitchen. It was quiet again but it's too early to feel safe now. Seonghwa grabbed a broomstick from the storage cabinet earlier out of instinct, lifting it high up to whack the bad guys that thought it's a great idea to rob their house at three in the _fucking_ morning.

Wooyoung hid behind the counter in the kitchen while watching the oldest sneak his way to the back door, holding a broomstick. And then the male paused. "Hyung, what are you doing? They're gonna get away!" Wooyoung yelled in a whisper and Seonghwa dropped his arms after putting them up to swing the broomstick at what they thought the thieves.

"You've gotta be fucking with me, Wooyoung." The older facepalmed as he put the broomstick away. Wooyoung just frowned in confusion. "What is it? Are the bad guys gone?"

"Do you mean the cat?"

Somehow, earlier, Wooyoung had missed a faint 'meow' when he rushed to the older's room after he heard noises at the back, fearing the dorm is getting robbed.

"Cat? Are you saying it was a cat?" Wooyoung's jaw dropped. He didn't just left his warm bed, panicked at the thought of getting robbed, woke up the oldest member from his sleep, at three a.m., over a cat.

"It appears so, yes."

Wooyoung went to Seonghwa's side where the older had opened the door just a little to see a cat warming his body in the small space between the trash cans. Before Seonghwa could warn anything about not going outside, Wooyoung had already gone to the cat and crouched. "Hello, there. What the hell are you doing out here? It's freezing." He reached out his hand to pet the animal who shyly accepted the gesture. Wooyoung tilted his head and noticed a collar around the cat's neck. "Oh, you have an owner."

"Wooyoung, what are you doing? Hurry up."

Wooyoung nearly forgot about the older. "Alright, just– hold on." He turned back to the cat and picked it up without hesitation since he didn't want to leave it outside where it's snowing.

"Look, hyung. Isn't he a cutie? He has an owner but he's outside at this hour. I think the owner hasn't been treating him well." Wooyoung said as soon as Seonghwa closed the door and both of them were inside. Seonghwa scanned the creature with wide eyes. "Firstly, it's a she." He pointed beneath her tail, "Secondly, why are you bringing her inside? Look how dirty she is and, oh god, she stinks. And your clothes will too, apparently." He covered his mouth and nose with a discomfort expression.

Wooyoung rolled his eyes at him. "Well, I'm certainly not leaving her out there. You felt how cold it is outside. I'll let her go when the sun is up in the morning, so don't get yourself too worked up. Gee..." He muttered.

"Excuse me, you just woke me up, from my beauty sleep, at freaking 3 a.m., saying it's the thieves when it's just a cat. A _cat_ , Wooyoung." Seonghwa groaned in his hands then.

"Well, I'm sorry for being wrong, but I just saved a life from the possibility of freezing to death here, hyung, look," Wooyoung raised the cat towards the older who backed away from him. "No, don't you dare–" Seonghwa almost yelled.

Wooyoung grinned and held the cat to his chest again. "We need to clean her up,"

Seonghwa stared at the younger in disbelief. "You mean _you_ need to clean her up."

"Aww, but you're an expert at this field, cleaning. Also, you wouldn't like the idea of a mess that you too would end up cleaning anyway, would you?" Wooyoung smirked a little when he saw the older rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Seonghwa huffed silently, " _Tch_."

"You should've stayed in your bed then if you don't wanna help. Why did you even bother, anyway," Wooyoung said again and Seonghwa widened his eyes at the younger's bratty attitude. "Oh, so it's my fault now? I swear to god–" He held himself back, knowing it's worthless to even argue with the younger about it.

" _Hyung_ ," Wooyoung was staring at him now with a pout, and damn it, the younger knew his weakness too well. Seonghwa just couldn't be able to say no when Wooyoung does that— being cute.

With a sigh, he nodded in defeat. " _Fine_."

And Wooyoung's smile widened in pure victory and happiness. "Really? Thank you! I love you so much," He whispered out heartily, overlooking a faded blush on Seonghwa's cheekbones that appeared for a split second. He went to hug him with the cat still in his hold but the older held out his hands to stop him.

"Don't. Come near me. With that thing."

"Hey, don't be rude to her!"

They're in the bathroom now. Wooyoung waited for Seonghwa to fill up the plastic tub that they managed to find in the storage while he played with the cat in his arms. She had a bronze color coat with long fur. Her ears were a darker color of brown, as well as her nose and the ring of her eyes. Wooyoung took off her collar and read her given name.

"Guri."

Which meant 'copper'. "Ah, it suits your color very well." Wooyoung smiled as he rubbed behind Guri's ears. She looked up with satisfied eyes and let out a long purr.

Then, Seonghwa said from the shower, "Bring her over here."

Wooyoung did as he crouched at the entrance, handing the cat to Seonghwa, who put Guri on the floor carefully with one hand and his other holding a showerhead. The older then moved the water to Guri's body slowly, starting from her tail. Thankfully, this cat wasn't the type to get scared of water. A sigh of relief escaped Wooyoung.

"Guri is such a good kitty. Aren't you? Yes, you are." He cooed as Guri's whole body was now wet as Seonghwa showered him. " _Meow~_ "

Seonghwa couldn't hold back a smile at Wooyoung's love for cats. He had noticed how the younger looked so glad when he found the cat outside earlier. He also knew how Wooyoung always wanted one but considering their busy schedules, they couldn't risk having one. "Hey, you can't just sit there and do nothing. It's your idea to bring her in, remember? Come here and clean her with that body wash." Seonghwa nudged his head towards the sink where the body wash is at. Which, Wooyoung obeyed him and did as he was told. After he came back with both hands containing a good amount of the liquid substance, Seonghwa removed his hand so that Wooyoung could rub his on Guri's dirty body.

"Make sure you rub on every part of her body," Seonghwa reminded. "Be gentle with her, too."

Wooyoung looked up with a grin. "Yes, hyung. I know." He said, and then he suddenly yawned. Seonghwa frowned at this and asked worriedly, "Wooyoung, you didn't sleep at all, did you?"

"Nope. Was about to until Guri happens." Wooyoung pointed at the cat who gave the two an innocent look. "Guri?" Seonghwa raised his brows and Wooyoung nodded. "It's her name from what her collar said. And thank goodness I was still awake or else something bad could've happened to her."

"Well, you should go now and take some rest. Let me finish this whole thing." Seonghwa insisted, suddenly feeling guilty for getting annoyed at him before but Wooyoung shook his head. "It's okay, I can sleep later in the day. I wanna spend some more time with Guri. It's not every day I can play with a cat and I have to take this golden opportunity."

Seonghwa just sighed, but he knew how much Guri meant to Wooyoung, even only for a few hours now and she would be gone back to her owner after the sun is up. When Wooyoung was finished, Seonghwa lifted the cat from the floor and put her inside the plastic tub filled with water before running the water over her to rinse her body. Wooyoung played with her all the while rubbing her face clean. After making sure all the water went through her body, Seonghwa turned the shower off and picked Guri up from the mini water pool.

Wooyoung grabbed a towel that Seonghwa had prepared and given it to him to dry up Guri from her short bathe. They both moved to sit on the floor instead since their knees were already hurting from the crouching. The cat had been awfully quiet, in their opinion. But it's a good thing because having the other members woken up early at this hour is a terrible idea.

"Seonghwa hyung." The said male looked up after Wooyoung broke the silence. "Hmm?"

"Thank you for helping me and not go back to sleep instead. And I'm sorry for troubling you with her. I didn't mean to steal away your precious sleeping hours." Wooyoung uttered, causing Seonghwa's face to soften. "Hey, it's fine. Just like you said, you saved her from the snow, so don't be sorry. Anyway, she didn't cause any trouble the moment you brought her in, so it's okay." Seonghwa said to comfort the other.

"Yeah, Guri's a really good girl." Wooyoung praised the cat and heard a long purr as Seonghwa rubbed her ears.

Seonghwa spoke, "I think I need to blow-dry her. I can't get this towel to dry her entire body. Do you mind?" Wooyoung met Seonghwa's asking eyes and could've sworn he saw sparkling stars in them. He nodded then after realizing he's been staring at those (pretty) eyes for a second too long and went to search for the hair-dryer in the cabinets.

It was quite unusual to be spending time alone with Seonghwa at this hour, Wooyoung thought as he watched the older blow-dry Guri's fur for it to be fully waterless. It's not like Seonghwa to be up at this hour, anyway. It was usually the younger members, though they wouldn't be up until nearly 4— Wooyoung had checked the time on his phone— nobody in the house ever stayed up until 4. This was the first time for Wooyoung to stay up this late and the first time for Seonghwa to wake up this early.

Regardless, this could be a memory for both of them. A quite special one, to say.

"There, she's all done now." Wooyoung's thought was disturbed at Seonghwa's voice. The older turned off the hair-dryer and let go of Guri to proceed to put away the things they used to bathe the cat back to their places. Wooyoung smiled again at Guri and scooped her up in his arms, leaning in to shower the kitty with kisses of affection while having absolutely no idea how she _hates_ that kind of service.

None of them saw it coming. Milliseconds later, there was a loud screech coming from the bathroom, followed by a yelp of pain and multiple curses under breaths because of that.

It's gonna be a long morning.

**»»**

**»»**

Now, Guri has left the bathroom— sulking, probably— leaving Wooyoung with a fresh scratch mark on his left cheek down to his jaw. And it stung so _bad_. Poor Wooyoung who's now wincing in pain while Seonghwa rushed to grab the first-aid kit somewhere in the bathroom cabinets.

"Note to self, not everyone or everything likes getting certain affections." Wooyoung was pouting, feeling betrayed as he held a clean towel pressed on his scratch to stop the bleeding.

Seonghwa could only chuckle in amusement at the younger one who's checking out the wound in the toilet mirror next to him. It was worst than just a scratch because it was deep. "That will totally leave a scar," He said while taking out cotton balls, disinfectant cream, and a plaster.

Wooyoung rolled his eyes, "Oh, yeah. Thanks for pointing it out." Note the sarcasm.

He groaned in frustration and then his hand that's holding the towel was tugged away by Seonghwa, surprising Wooyoung for a bit at the cold touch on his. The older began to treat the scratch by cleaning it first with warm water and then applying a disinfectant cream afterwards. Wooyoung stayed still as he felt the finger rubbing on his skin gently, flinching at the pain ever so slightly. But he felt a strangely comforting feeling having the oldest treating his wound when he clearly could've done it himself.

But that's who Seonghwa is; a caring member of the group who always looks out for each other.

Throughout the treatment, Wooyoung had kept his eyes at the older, watching him who had his focused sights at Wooyoung's wound while he carefully and delicately treated it. Having Seonghwa this close to his face was making Wooyoung's insides flutter and he tried so badly not to let his blood rush to his cheeks.

"I guess Guri's owner hasn't been cutting her nails. This scratch is quite deep, it's concerning..."

Seonghwa's words disturbed the younger out of his train of thoughts as he opened a plaster to put it on the scratch mark. "It hurts. I never knew it would hurt this bad." Wooyoung uttered to keep his mind from wandering again. He was enjoying Seonghwa's touch on his cheek when the finger suddenly left, alerting Wooyoung that the treatment had ended.

"It's done. If you feel the pain getting worst, then it might be an infection because of a cat scratch disease. You should see a doctor then." Seonghwa went to tidy up the first-aid equipment back into the kit and put it into the cabinets.

Wooyoung nodded in return and muttered, "Thanks, hyung. I've troubled you yet again." He felt guilty again that morning.

"Wooyoung, it's _okay_."

Seonghwa turned to face the other whose eyes staring at the bathroom tiles. "You're just feeling tired because you didn't sleep at all last night." He added to calm the younger who replied, "Yeah, I guess. But still... I owe you a lot."

"Glad you realize that now. You can treat me to a meal later. Would that make you feel better?" Seonghwa watched the younger's sleepy eyes lit back up.

"Yes, it would. Thanks again, hyung." Wooyoung grinned and yawned instantly, his body was about to give out at any moment because of lack of rest. "And this is where you go to sleep. Let's go now." Seonghwa helped to lead him by his shoulders out of the bathroom. "I wonder where Guri went?" He asked and just by saying that name out loud, the cat appeared at their feet, looking up as if she's expecting something.

"There she is."

Seonghwa smiled contently at the small animal but Wooyoung had the opposite reaction. "Guri is not a good girl anymore. Guri is a bad girl." He scolded the cat but the animal went to caress her body between Wooyoung's legs as an act of saying sorry. She let out a meow and Wooyoung couldn't stay mad anymore, so he let out a sigh. "You'll never get away with this."

" _Meow~_ " Wooyoung pulled a smile.

Guri didn't walk away and continued to look up at both of them, her soft meowing continued.

"I think she's hungry," Seonghwa muttered after a few seconds of thinking. Wooyoung nodded with a small smile. "I think she is. Then, let's get you something to eat, Guri-ah~"

"No," Seonghwa stopped Wooyoung before anything, and the younger cast a confused glance. "You need to sleep, Wooyoung."

The said male sighed in defeat, feeling too exhausted to complain with the oldest member, and nodded. "Alright, fine." He made his way to lay down on the couch in the living room instead of going to his room. Seonghwa didn't feel like insisting him to go to his room, so he just disappeared into the kitchen to search for some leftovers for Guri who followed behind him.

Unfortunately, there weren't any leftovers for Guri to eat but there was a can of tuna Seonghwa had found hiding deep in the kitchen cabinet. He took the filling out of the can and pour it into a bowl before serving it to Guri. The cat happily feasted on the food and Seonghwa smiled at this. He then went to pour some milk into another bowl for the cat to drink. Seeing the cat can eat on her own, Seonghwa left to check on Wooyoung in the living room who's deep in his sleep, a soft snore escaping his mouth.

He should tell Wooyoung to continue sleeping in his room instead since it's more comfortable but seeing him this peaceful made Seonghwa feel like he shouldn't disturb his sleep. Unfortunately, the other members would soon wake up and it would be loud out here. Plus, sleeping in his bed allows Wooyoung to have quality sleep for the day. Seonghwa pursed his lips and went to tap the younger's shoulder.

" _Wooyoungie_ ," He whispered the nickname lowly. "You need to go sleep on your bed or your back will hurt." Seonghwa shook the other's shoulder gently now and received a soft grunt. Wooyoung's eyes fluttered open weakly and stared at the older through his half-opened eyes. 

"Hey, I'll walk you to your room, okay?" Seonghwa said again and Wooyoung nodded sleepily. The older helped him up and held him close to him to guide his way to his shared room with Yeosang. They went inside and Seonghwa took Wooyoung to his bed, carefully landing him on the mattress, and brought his legs as well. Then, he covered the young male with his blanket to keep him warm from the cold.

However, Seonghwa had stayed there still, bending down further to watch the sleeping figure closely. Wooyoung's hair fell over his forehead, covering his eyes and his lashes. Out of nowhere, Seonghwa reached out his hand to tuck back the other's hair away from his closed eyes, but he made no move to retreat his hand and it remained on the side of Wooyoung's head, while his eyes gazed over his features.

Suddenly, Seonghwa bent down to plant a soft kiss on Wooyoung's forehead. He didn't know what made him do that and why, but he just did. He quickly walked away to not wake up the younger and went back to taking care of Guri. 

Little did he know, Wooyoung has not yet asleep completely and was aware of what happened just now. A blush had made its way to his cheeks as the kiss lingered on his skin. Not only his body felt warm because he's in his bed, but also his heart, because of that small gesture.

**»»**

"Wooyoung, are you sure you know where we're going?" asked Seonghwa behind his face mask.

"Of course, trust me," Wooyoung assured.

" _Wooyoung_ ,"

The said male stopped walking when he noticed Seonghwa had come to a halt a few steps behind him. "We've been walking for nearly half an hour," Seonghwa said again. They were now in some street that's quite far away from their home, wearing a cap low on their heads and a black face mask to hide their identity. They're idols and going out at night, just the two of them without their manager, in the street is quite risky. Although their fans who could be able to recognize them would mean no harm as they knew to mind their own business, the two should still be careful to not attract unwanted danger.

Wooyoung turned to the older and replied, "We're getting there, really. There's this one place where I know that has a lot of privacy for just us two."

"Why can't we go to our usual place instead? It's pretty much the same." Seonghwa asked, indicating the restaurant their group usually goes to whenever they want to eat outside because they were bored with food from home.

"This is different, hyung. I just want to treat you to something other than from our usual place. Please?" Wooyoung tried explaining, not wanting to tell the older the whole reason why he had to drag him to a new place so he could be with him alone. Not that the older would care much, honestly. But he just wanted this to be personal for him and Seonghwa.

"Why is this different? I don't really mind, you know."

Wooyoung gave him a shrug. "Just, because."

Seonghwa raised his brow at the vague answer and the younger continued anyway, "Now hurry up and let's go, hyung. I'm getting hungry." 

He let himself get dragged by Wooyoung once again since they had left their dorm. He didn't mine, anyway. Having the young brat doing whatever he pleased to him surely can get annoying, but never for Seonghwa. As he said once before, it's hard not to love Wooyoung. A few walking and turning in the cold evening, they eventually arrived at the place Wooyoung had talked about, hidden in the streets and far from other big stores and the crowd of people. It's a small cafe and the inside felt warm and comfortable as they went in. They took off their coats and folded them on their chairs as they took their seats. 

They ordered their food and waited then. Wooyoung pulled down his mask and Seonghwa mirrored his action, gazing at their surroundings after he did. Even though the place wasn't that big, it was decorated nicely and beautifully like most big cafes in other places. There were just the two of them other than a couple in the back. Wooyoung noticed Seonghwa examining the cafe and he broke the silence, "This place is pretty, right? It's secluded but calm, perfect for us."

Seonghwa nodded. "Yes, it's so cozy here. This place must be new since there are hardly any customers." He faced Wooyoung again. 

"Yup. That's why I'm taking you to eat here before it gets famous. This way, we can have our privacy. I feel like I did a great job." Wooyoung patted himself proudly while Seonghwa grinned and was about to say something in return when the waiter arrived with their food. They both bowed their heads and uttered a thank you before beginning to eat together in silence.

But the silence wasn't unpleasant at all and they enjoyed it. They ate their foods contently, both of them were too hungry to pause eating and chat for a second. 

Seonghwa looked down at his bowl and saw Wooyoung giving him a piece of meat. He looked up at him who smiled. "Hyung, just eat as much as you want and don't worry about me." The younger said, pointing at the foods. "Alright. Thanks, Wooyoungie." Seonghwa sent him the sweetest smile and continued eating.

Wooyoung felt a sudden tug of heart in his chest all of a sudden at that sweet smile. He always acknowledged how pretty the older's smile is but he never thought it could affect him like this. He shook his head to prevent a blush from forming on his cheeks.

After they've finished, they headed out to leave as they shouldn't stay longer. As promised, Wooyoung had paid for them both— it was more expensive than he thought and Seonghwa almost offered his money as well but Wooyoung insisted he shouldn't. He spent more money than he intended for their meal, but if it's for Seonghwa, Wooyoung didn't mind even for a bit.

"We're done here. Let's go home now, hyung." Wooyoung put up his mask as he stood next to the older who's looking up at the sky with an audible gasp. "What?"

Seonghwa pointed above them and whispered, "Look, it's snowing."

Wooyoung noticed the snowflakes now and grinned behind his mask. He lifted his hand to cup the snowflakes that are falling from the sky, a few landed on his cold hand. "It's so beautiful." He whispered under his breath. And, as it was snowing, it was also getting colder outside, causing both males to shudder. They continued their way towards their dorm but not in a rush because they still wanted to enjoy the chill night air.

During their long walk, Wooyoung saw from the corner of his eyes that Seonghwa is trying to keep his hands warm and his pockets are not helping that much— because his coat was not as thick as Wooyoung's. "Gosh, it's getting so cold. I should have worn my gloves." He heard the older mumbled.

He wanted to help Seonghwa who kept on complaining under his breaths, not realizing Wooyoung could hear him. Then, an idea came to mind, lighting Wooyoung's bulb. He held out his hand to him abruptly. Seonghwa looked at it, and then at Wooyoung.

"Don't pretend I didn't hear you grumbling, hyung. You were saying that your hands are cold. I know I can only warm up only one hand of yours but it's better, right?" Wooyoung said and was very grateful that he's wearing his mask because his cheeks were burning at the moment. He then thought back at his decision to offer his hand to the older and realized it's ridiculous and now, he's embarrassed.

So, he dropped his hand and put it back into his coat pocket, and shook his head. "It's okay if you don't want to. I figured it could help." Wooyoung then quickened his walking pace with embarrassment on his back. _Yeah, walking away is definitely a great idea. Now Seonghwa thinks you're angry at him._

Wooyoung scolded himself with a huff and continued walking until he heard heavy footsteps behind him. Seonghwa was now at his side again. "Don't walk out on me. And I didn't say anything about not wanting it." He said, prompting Wooyoung to look at him with confusion in his eyes. This time, Seonghwa was the one holding out his hand.

"Here."

He offered and waited patiently for the younger to take his hand. Wooyoung brought up his hand to hold Seonghwa's slowly, wrapping his fingers around it. Seonghwa, in return, had entangled their fingers instead for better warmth. "You can just tell me that you want to hold my hand, Wooyoung." He said in a teasing tone and continued walking, pulling the other with him as he did.

Wooyoung didn't say anything because he was enjoying the warmth of Seonghwa's hand in his. Instantly, it had transferred its warmth to his chest, the same feeling he had experienced that early dawn when the older had kissed his forehead.

It felt overwhelming, Wooyoung thought, but in a very good way. He smiled at the good feeling in his chest and figured he should enjoy the moment. He tightened his grip on Seonghwa's hand and then brought them into his pocket, creating more warmth.

Seonghwa smiled when Wooyoung did this. Like him, Seonghwa was also liking this whole feeling. It seemed like a small gesture, but it did give a huge impact on both of them. But neither decided to think much about it. They just wanted to focus on the warmth from their held hands and in their chests.

And that was enough.

They were outside their dorm when they stopped suddenly, at the sight of a furry animal passing by them. "Oh, Guri!" Wooyoung exclaimed happily, missing their companion during the small hours the other day.

Guri looked at the two and stopped as well. Wooyoung bent down, causing Seonghwa to also do the same as their hands were still linking in each other. The younger went to pat Guri with his palm, smiling widely behind his mask. How amazing that just because of this cat, it could bring two hearts closer without them realizing it. The times they'd spent together during those small hours the other day while the others were sound asleep in their rooms, it felt different but special.

It felt magical in a type of way and both of them secretly liked it.

After saying a short hello to Guri, the pair continued to go inside and had arrived at their dorm, still holding each other's hand, and refused to let go yet, fearing they would miss the fondness of it. They got inside and were greeted by their members from the living room as they both took off their boots. It was when they felt eyes lasting on them that they both looked up. Well, to be precise, the other members were staring at their joined hands in Wooyoung's coat pocket.

Seonghwa hurriedly removed his grasp from Wooyoung's hand and dropped it on his side. He then retreated to his room silently, leaving Wooyoung standing alone with three pairs of eyes— Jongho's, Yunho's, and Mingi's— on him.

"Back from your date already?" Mingi was the first to speak up, earning a chuckle from Yunho and Jongho.

Wooyoung glared at him. "What are you talking about?" He hurriedly made his way to his room, not anticipating an answer from them.

He shut the door after he went in and took off his mask with a sigh. When he turned around, he was surprised to see San and Yeosang cuddling together under the sheet with hot chocolates in their hands and a laptop on their laps.

"Oh, you're back, Wooyoung-ah," Yeosang said from his bed and Wooyoung nodded at him and San who waved lazily at him.

"Are you two watching a movie?" Wooyoung asked after taking off his coat and made his way to his bed, feeling tired of walking outside in the cold earlier. "Yeah, a Christmas movie," San answered. "Wanna join us?"

Wooyoung shook his head no as he laid on his bed. "No, thanks. You two go on." San and Yeosang nodded and continued their movie night while Wooyoung sighed in relief in his bed.

His mind started to wander that night, beginning from the other day when he had stayed up very late and heard a noise outside to eating out together with just Seonghwa. He flashed back the memory of the older's fingers brushing on his cheek where the cat scratch is, his face being close to his when he treated his wound, those soft lips on his forehead from the older, and the warmth of their hands together earlier.

Those things are the reason Wooyoung was feeling very happy right now. Those times spent with Seonghwa surely created something else in him— a strange feeling in his chest that would make his stomach flutter with butterflies. Maybe that's the beginning of their journey to something they have yet to explore, that is if Seonghwa too is feeling the same— which Wooyoung found himself wishing so badly for it to be true.

Little did he know, in the other room, Seonghwa too was thinking of the same thing. In his mind was also about Wooyoung. He was in the toilet, brushing his teeth when the thought of the younger came crawling into his head. He paused his action and felt himself smile suddenly. He shook his head to shake that overwhelming nice feeling in him, but it never left.

Deep inside, he thought, maybehe's starting to like the younger. Though, he still had a lot to learn with this kind of feeling, so he should take it slow.

Indeed, it is the beginning for both Seonghwa and Wooyoung, towards being something more than just friends in the group.

And it all started with a cat named Guri.

**_» Fin «_ **

**Author's Note:**

> probably not my best work and i feel less proud of this, tbh. but i do hope you all enjoy because its quite tiring for me. merry late christmas to those who are celebrating! happy holiday!


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